Northern Health region sees more than 160 new cases of COVID-19

The Northern Health region reported 167 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday.
However, the number of active cases in the region dropped by three from Monday, down to 1,136, according to data reported by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control and B.C. Ministry of Health.
One new COVID-related death was reported in the region on Tuesday, bringing northern B.C.’s death toll from the pandemic up to 279.
As of Tuesday, 10 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in the Northern Health region, of which one person was listed in intensive care, according to B.C. CDC data.
Many of those currently hospitalized with COVID-19 contracted the Delta variant and have been hospitalized for some time, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said in a public update on Tuesday afternoon.
With the new Omicron variant, B.C. is seeing an increased number of infections among vaccinated people, Henry said.
“Yes, vaccinated people are becoming infected, but they are much less likely to need hospital care, ICU care or die…” Henry said. “This wave is moving quickly, you need to protect yourself now.”
While the Omicron variant continues to pose the highest risk to older people, and those with other health complications, Henry said, there are exceptions. Three unvaccinated British Columbians in their 20s and one in their 30s are currently in ICU being treated for COVID-19, Henry said.
Vaccinated people are 60 to 70 per cent less likely to be hospitalized if they do contract COVID-19, she said, and receiving a third booster shot increases that protection even higher.
Henry said the province is committed to keeping in-person learning available for B.C. students as much as possible, and “keeping as much as possible open in our communities,” she said.
“We are looking at what can safely resume now that all businesses have COVID plans in place,” Henry added.
As of Tuesday, 88.8 per cent of eligible British Columbians (aged five and older) had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and 83.2 per cent had received a second dose. In addition, 28.6 per cent of adults had received a third booster dose.
As of Tuesday, nearly 9.78 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in B.C., including 434,465 doses in the Northern Health region.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been a total of 20,895 cases of COVID-19 in the Northern Health region, of which 19,330 people have recovered.